The most important thing you can do to assure yourself high-quality medical care is to form a strong relationship with a good primary care physician and, at times, together make informed decisions on specialty care. We identify top area doctors.

There’s no clear answer as to whether the positive results most patients experience from acupuncture are from a placebo effect. But since it works and, when properly performed, involves very few risks and virtually no negative side effects, maybe you shouldn’t overthink it.

Acupuncture draws on various medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries, some dating back as far as 2,000 years. Like many alternative medical procedures, acupuncture is also subject to trends.